Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Six young bravehearts from across India, including two teenagers who sacrificed their lives, earned the 14th Ghanshyam Binani Children’s Bravery Award for 2014.
The recipients were honoured for their heroics by the Braj Binani Group at an awards ceremony at the Grand Hotel, Mumbai on Monday.
The award, instituted in memory of Late Ghanshyam Binani, founder-chairman of Binani Industries Ltd., acknowledges an act of bravery and selflessness of boys and girls across India up to the age of 16 who risked their lives to save others who were in danger of losing their own.
It includes the bravery and social cause categories, and the posthumous category that was introduced this year.
The awardees were give a cash prize of Rs. 51,000 (for their education), a silver medal of courage, a certificate of recognition and a citation, each.
The members of the jury were Grace Pinto, MD, Ryan International Group of Institutions, Kalpana Binani, Joey Ghose, MD, Binani Cement and Bina Verma, CEO, MediaMagix, the servicing company of the Braj Binani Group.
From among the 74 nominations received this year from all over India, the recipients in the bravery category were, Akshay Anand Tambe, 15, of Sindhudurg, Maharashtra; Victor Lalbeiseia, 7, from Mizoram; Ashwini Bandu Ughade, 13, of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra; and Mhonbeni Ezung, 6, of Nagaland, the youngest awardee.
Shaurya Veer Singh, 12, of Madhya Pradesh and Riya Chaudhary, 15, of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh were awarded posthumously.
The awards will be telecast on Zee News on May 29.
“The response to the awards was overwhelming,” said Ms. Binani. “The determination and courage shown by the children is truly inspiring.”
Overcome with emotion, Ms. Pinto said: “I was deeply moved when I read the stories of the nominated children. The new generation children should follow traditional values practiced by their parents, feel proud of India’s culture and always be brave in saving the lives of those in danger.”
“It was a difficult task to choose the winners,” added Joey Ghose. “I believe such awards instill confidence in young children who have learnt things the tough way.”
